Call Them The Dubliners: Vancouver’s Clio To Open Office in Ireland

Business is “bloom”ing for Burnaby-based startup Clio, a leader in cloud-based management tools for the legal industry.

The company is celebrating its fifth anniversary by opening a Dublin office, to serve the UK and European markets. The UK’s legal industry is worth more than $40 billion.

“We see the same trends in the UK and Europe that we saw in North America over the past five years. Law firms are ready to move their operations onto the cloud and they see that Clio is the best option,” said CEO Jack Newton. “The appeal lies in Clio offering the full range of tools for firms, from time tracking and billing/reporting, to client contact, document management, scheduling, trust accounting, and detailed reporting. Plus we will now be able to offer on-the-ground support.”

Clio is a comprehensive web-based practice management product specifically designed for solo practitioners and small-to-medium-sized law firms. Users can access the software on PCs, Macs, and most mobile devices. It provides case/matter management, time tracking, billing/reporting, client contact and document management, task scheduling, trust accounting, and detailed reporting. Meanwhile, Clio Connect is a secure portal for exchanging information and collaborating with clients, and Clio Express, an offline time capture application.

The company figures that with a lucrative opportunity waiting for it overseas (the European market is forecast to reach $250 billion by 2015), it was an appropriate time to make the move. Nagib Tharani is leading Clio’s international expansion and will head up the new office in Dublin set to open this month, while hiring is underway. Clio plans to have the office fully operational with sales and support staff by early 2014.

“The demands faced by legal firms to manage their practices efficiently in response to new rules and regulations are global in nature,” added Newton. “Most solutions available outside North America are still based on outdated and expensive enterprise software. Clio meets the specific needs of international legal firms including local data protection laws and other country-specific requirements.”

UK-based solicitor Charles Drayson began using Clio in 2012 to help run his practice that specializes in IT law. “Clio is a game changer. It’s all online, accessible anywhere and incredibly easy to use. Furthermore, Clio supports our growth and compliance efforts,” said Drayson.

Joseph Czikk previously has written for the National Post, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun, Regina Leader Post, Techvibes and BC Business Online. Joseph often goes crazy on twitter during NHL and NFL games.